Flange rings or sealing rings for roller bearings are not new per se. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 1,970,449 for ANTIFRICTION BEARINGS, there is shown a roller bearing assembly having flange rings or sealing rings slotted in the manner of lock washers at points around the periphery. These rings are compressed radially for insertion into the ring-shape groove and are allowed to expand in the groove. These slotted flange rings have certain disadvantages and drawbacks. For example, the slot prevents the ends of the rolling elements from starting. It has been found that they become jammed, particularly when the bearing is used for transmitting axial forces.
Swiss Patent No. 269,274 shows a roller bearing wherein the bore or lateral surface of a closed flange ring is provided with radial projections or the like, which prevent axial displacement of the rolling elements after installation, that is, after the flange rings have been inserted into ring-shaped grooves of the bearing rings. For insertion, the flange rings are deformed slightly in the axial direction and then allowed to snap into the groove.
German Utility Model 1,819,230 shows a dust cover or the like for roller bearings. The cover is in the form of a cup spring which can be inserted into the ring-shaped groove in one of the bearing rings and then pressed flat. By this process, the outer edge expands to lock the dust cover firmly in place. It has been found that the Swiss and German arrangements are applicable in the case of closed flange rings only and specifically flange rings of rather limited width or wall thickness. A short coming therefore and a danger is that these flange rings will not remain tightly seated in the axial direction and under certain operating conditions, they will tend to creep in the peripheral direction during operation.